Nurse laid to rest after 30 years

A father who dedicated the last 30 years to trying to prove his daughter was murdered in Saudi Arabia has finally laid her to rest.

Nurse Helen Smith died in May 1979 when she apparently fell from a balcony in the city of Jeddah.

She was 23 years old at the time.

Her father, Ron Smith, refused to believe official reports that his daughter's death was an accident and, until recently, would not allow her body to be released for burial. Miss Smith's remains have since been held in a mortuary in Leeds and this is believed to be the longest time a body has lain unburied in the UK.

Mr Smith, who is now 83, joined his former wife Jeryl for a funeral service at Wakefield Crematorium, in West Yorkshire.

Only close family and invited guests were allowed into the chapel for the service which lasted about 20 minutes.

Miss Smith's coffin was carried into the service with a wreath of mainly pink flowers on top.

Mr Smith, who is seriously ill with kidney disease, walked slowly into the chapel using a stick to steady himself.

He was wearing a dark overcoat and bright red scarf. No details of the service or who was at the funeral were released. Around a dozen people were seen going into the chapel.